Little Ferry, NJ.., January 2002 - The SETI League, Inc. is pleased to announce the selection of astronomer and historian Steven J. Dick as Keynote Speaker for its upcoming SETICon02 Technical Symposium. Dr. Dick will speak on "SETI and the Post-Biological Universe" at 1 PM on Friday, 26 April, 2002 at The College of New Jersey, Trenton NJ.

Steven J. Dick has worked as an astronomer and historian of science at the U. S. Naval Observatory since 1979. He obtained his B.S. in astrophysics (1971), and MA and PhD (1977) in history and philosophy of science from Indiana University. Among other publications he is author of Plurality of Worlds (1982), The Biological Universe (Cambridge University Press, 1996), and Life on Other Worlds (1998), the latter translated into four languages. He is editor of Many Worlds: The New Universe, Extraterrestrial Life and the Theological Implications (2000). He has just completed his history of the Naval Observatory, Sky and Ocean Joined: The U. S. Naval Observatory, 1830-2000.

Dr. Dick served on former Vice President Al Gore's panel to examine the societal implications of possible life in the Mars rock, and is the recipient of the NASA Group Achievement Award for helping to initiate NASA's multidisciplinary program in astrobiology. He is on the Editorial Board of several journals, including the Journal for the History of Astronomy, and is an associate editor of the new International Journal of Astrobiology. He has served as Chairman of the Historical Astronomy Division of the American Astronomical Society, and as President of the History of Astronomy Commission of the International Astronomical Union.

SETI scientists seek to determine through microwave and optical measurements whether humankind is alone in the universe. Since Congress terminated NASA's SETI funding in 1993, The SETI League and other scientific groups have been attempting to privatize the research. Experimenters interested in participating in the search for intelligent alien life, or citizens wishing to help support it, should email to join_at_setileague_dot_org, check the SETI League Web
site at http://www.setileague.org/, send a fax to +1 (201) 641-1771, or contact The SETI League, Inc. membership hotline at +1 (800) TAU-SETI. Be sure to provide us with a postal address to which we will mail further information. The SETI League, Inc. is a membership-supported, non-profit [501(c)(3)], educational and scientific corporation dedicated to the electromagnetic Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence.